Columns

As parents, educators and community leaders, now is the time. Want to improve our schools? Want to help our children? In the next few weeks, the Congress is going to consider the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). This is the federal government’s single largest funding pool for K-12 education. The bill represents the best opportunity to address not only poverty, but also to close the achievement gap and improve our schools for kids, educators and the community.

Last week in the General Assembly in Raleigh, we honored the 105th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and the 100th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow, the scouting honor society; had many discussions on the gas tax issue and saw the Senate pass a bill stabilizing the gas tax; and heard the presentation of the all-important revenue forecast for 2015-17.

More than 20 years in journalism, much of it spent as a public safety reporter, has given me a pretty strong constitution. I’ve come upon horrific crime scenes and gory accidents and found myself in truly repulsive environments more times than I care to remember (and will probably never forget). After a few years, I managed to develop a more clinical approach — plus gallows humor — to cope. Today, I’m confident in my odds of winning an old-fashioned juvenile game of “What’s grosser than gross?” based solely on personal experience.

As we move into the second month of the 114th Congress, I thought it might be helpful to provide a quick summary highlighting what we accomplished during the past few weeks.

In order to better serve you, we opened three main offices across the 7th Congressional District. These offices are located in Bolivia, Wilmington and Smithfield. I think you will find our staff is exceptional and can assist you with a variety of issues — everything from veterans’ affairs casework to helping with passports.

Did you know that if you are younger than 65 and have a disability, you might be eligible for Medicare? If you have questions about your health insurance options, SHIIP can help. SHIIP, the Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program, is a division of the North Carolina Department of Insurance that provides free, unbiased counseling about Medicare not just to seniors, but also to people on Medicare because of disability.

The Tar Heel Family knew this day would come soon, but it hurt anyway. Dean Smith, the longtime men’s basketball coach of my alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, died Saturday night at 83. It was only slightly less shocking than the news that dementia was robbing our great coach of his sharp memory.

In childhood, there’s a tendency to want to be older. Many a 4-year-old would rather be 6. For those who are only 9, it sounds bigger and better to say they’re double-digits 10.

Ditto for teenage-hood — the older you are, the more sophisticated and grown-up it sounds to say you’re older than you are, old enough to get into a restricted movie, perhaps. “Under 17,” after all, still requires an accompanying parent or adult guardian

A few years ago, I wrote a short piece about Robert Jones, my barber. It was a brief and admiring look at a man who started a local barbershop, Hair Shapers, and operated it until his passing. Robert was the consummate barber: fast, accurate and a good listener — all the ingredients that made the consumer return to the chair.

When was the last time you broke bread with someone? I mean, really broke bread — pulled apart a dense baked ball of dough while dining with another person or group of people? It’s so basic, but there’s something about it that, to me, conveys a true sense of kinship.